(2 February 2016) Food security and the commitment to a “zero hunger” world are some of the themes on which will focus, tomorrow, the first official visit of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Paolo Gentiloni, to the World Food Programme. The foreign minister will visit the Rome headquarters and, after talks with WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, and with the agency’s top management, he will meet the staff and visit the Garden of Peace. The Minister will also stop at the Memorial Wall in remembrance of WFP aid workers who died in the course of their missions. In 2015, at the Universal Exhibition in Milan, the Italian Government established a partnership with the WFP on food safety issues and the implementation of the Charter of Milan. Numerous WFP programs are currently supported by Italy, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, in common effort to address the dire humanitarian situation in Syria and its serious repercussions in the region. (Red)
